Aww poop! Another one too damn small to eat. Well, back in ya go little fella.

SPEARING FISH

Spearing fish can be a challenge and fun. To successfully spear one it depends on the width + depth of the water + the size of the fish you're trying to spear + the type of spear head + your patience & throwing skills = a fish meal.

But first let me tell you a story about a fella who goes by the name of "Buckshot." He once sent me a video showing how he uses “snare wire” to catch fish. Yep, you read right, a wire snare. And in his video he shows how he attaches the wire snare to the end of a stick and then goes walking through some water at night with a flashlight.

And yep, he sure did catch a bucket load of fish with his wire snare and stick and it was pretty impressive too. But the fish he was catching looked like they were either spawning upstream, trapped in creek or at some fish farm. Hell, there were so many fish in the water he didn't need his stick & snare wire he could have caught’em with his bare hands. They were every where!

Now there’s no way in hell you could use his technique in a real world outdoor survival situation unless under similar conditions. If anything, I did find ol’Buckshot’s video amusing and entertaining.

Anyway, getting back to how to spear fish...have ya ever tried it, to spear a fish in a creek or pond? What pisses me off is the way some of these other survival sites and handbooks make it sound so easy to do. And what makes matters worse is they don't even teach you any techniques in how to practice and become proficient at it. Well let me first tell you what you need. Yep, you need a straight sturdy stick, one that is not too thick, not too thin and then you need to sharpen one end of the stick to a point. But don’t make it too pointed & thin or it'll break almost every time you throw it. In which then you’ll be spending most of your time re-sharpening it than trying to spear fish with it.

Here, check out some of these sample fishing spear heads and points. NOTE: Mulitple spear points work best because they’ll give you a greater chance in spearing a fish. The only reason why I used bamboo sticks in the photo is to show you a bit more clearly how to make'em. And what I highly suggest you pack & carry are afew assorted size cement nails and not wood nails in your survival kit so you can attach the nails to the end of your wooden spear. So in the event you hit something hard in the water like a rock your point(s) won’t dull or bend. To learn more about how to attach and use cement nails as spear and arrow heads, go to my “survival weapon” page.

The best place to spear fish is obviously where you see fish swimming, duh? And preferably where fish are restricted like in shallow & narrow water and NOT in deep wide bodies of water where they can easily get away from you. When trying to spear fish it’s best to be on shore instead of standing in the water to avoid casting your shadow [in the water] which will spook & scare fish away. And when on shore you need to take preferably a kneeling position to reduce casting your shadow in the water and so the fish don't see you on the shoreline too. And then all you gotta do is wait until one comes within spear throwing range, aim slightly "below and forward of the fish" and throw your spear. And here's why, check out the photo.

The reason why you want to aim "slightly forward" of the fish is to try to counter his quick forward movement when the spear breaks the surface of the water. But this slight forward lead will also depend on the depth of the water, the size and type of fish you’re trying to the spear. And the only way you are going to learn how to successfully spear fish is by trial & error or by making some spear fishing targets out of wood like in these in the photo. That’s right, they’re just cut out pieces of wood in the shape of a fish. Then all you gotta do is drill a few holes along the bottom portion and attach some weight to them so they’ll float upwards and you can see’em to practice spearing’em. Pretty good idea, huh?

Now here's a spear you've probably never seen before, it's my own concoction and it seems to works pretty good too. But to make one you'll need a few large fishing hooks, and so if you've got some spare room in your survival kit, pack three large size fishing hooks. Then all ya gotta do is make a wooden fish spear and attach them about 2-3 inches above the spear point by tying and embedding them into the wood. Then should you miss a fish with the main spear head/point, you got a second chance in "snagging" the fish with one of these hooks. Or if your lucky enough to spear a fish with the main spear point, some of these hooks will help keep the fish on the end of the spear point. If you only have a few medium size fish hooks, they'll work provided you bend out the barbed hooks a bit so they can snag a fish a bit more easier. If there’s a lot of grass, weeds & vegetation in the water, be careful or the hooks could get snagged and come off.

There's another way you can catch fish and it's called "snagging." All you have to do is attach one or several fishing hooks to the end of a stick ...

..and when a fish is within range you just reach out and snag it up on shore like this.	If you attach a fish hook to the end of your fishing pole it will help you to pull in your catch.	But I much prefer to use a spear and wait for some good size tasty fish to pass by and....	..if you're patient like me you just might be lucky enough to spear a fish for dinner.

Have you ever seen one of these before, they're called an Individual Multi-Purpose Survival (IMPS) Net from Brigade Quartermaster.

When used as a fish net, wait until some good size fish are directly in the center of the net...		...then quickly pull it up. I used my fiberglass tent poles and some 550 para-cord to make this fish net trap.

Yep, I bought me one of these years ago and I gotta tell ya, they're pretty damn handy. I guarantee you'll find lots of uses for it. And not just for fishing, trust me you will.